|
|
 |
Roster | Schedule/Results | News | Archives |
|
|||
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
     |
  
2002 Baseball Season Preview
Complete Release in PDF Format
Feb. 25, 2002
The Johns Hopkins baseball program, ranked 17th in Division III for most wins (340) from 1990-2001, enters the 2002 season looking to repeat as Centennial Conference champions and return to the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Bob Babb enters his 23rd season at Hopkins needing just 20 victories to reach 600 for his career.
Babb has led the Blue Jays to 20 seasons with at least 20 wins, including 10 straight years with at least 25 wins. JHU has also won four Centennial championships, three UAA championships, and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances under Babb.
The Blue Jays finished the 2001 campaign with a 33-14 record, a fourth Centennial championship, and a 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. Expectations in 2002 are once again high as Hopkins returns a number of experienced players capable of leading the team to another successful campaign.
Hopkins welcomes back nearly everyone from a pitching staff that was a main reason for the team's success in 2001. Senior Yani Rosenberg, the 2001 Centennial Pitcher-of-the-Year, heads a staff that ranked in the top five in Division III in earned run average (2.79) all season long. The team also compiled 17 complete games and seven shutouts, while setting a JHU record for strikeouts in a season (290).
Rosenberg, the team's ace, earned Second Team All-American and First Team Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors after posting an 8-1 record and a 1.32 ERA. He also led the team in starts (10), shutouts (3), innings pitched (68), and strikeouts (86), and tied for the team lead with five complete games. Rosenberg is currently fourth all-time at Hopkins with 188 career strikeouts and second all-time in winning percentage (.863, 19-3).
Joining Rosenberg in the starting rotation will be junior Jeremy Brown and sophomores Russ Berger and George Merrell. Brown began the 2001 season as the team's number two starter, but missed most of the year due to injury. He made just four starts and went 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 19 innings. Brown combines a hard slider with a good splitfinger and is a tough competitor on the mound.
Berger had an exceptional freshman season as he posted a 1.45 ERA and 5-2 record. He also produced two complete games and one shutout, while finishing third on the team with 40 strikeouts. Merrell also had an outstanding freshman campaign, recording a 5-0 mark with two complete games and one shutout. He has excellent control, good velocity, and is smart on the mound. Merrell is quaterback on the JHU football team.
Seniors Jason Setty, Mark Jarashow, and Neal Lynch and sophomore Matt Righter could see time in the rotation as well as out of the bullpen. Setty has been a solid performer as a starter and a reliever in each of his first three seasons. He has posted a 3.32 career ERA and a 12-2 overall record, which places him third all-time at Hopkins for career winning percentage (.857). Setty is an intelligent player who throws strikes with all of his pitches.
Jarashow made five relief appearances in 2001 and did not allow an earned run. He totaled eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings and combined with Rosenberg and Merrell for JHU's first no-hitter since 1993 in a 9-0 win against Franklin & Marshall. Jarashow is a very durable pitcher and has good velocity on his fastball.
Lynch, who finished his 2001 season with two strong starts, has good control and can throw all four of his pitches for strikes. He posted a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings and also pitched one complete game.
Righter, who also plays basketball at Hopkins, has great potential as a starting pitcher. He made seven appearances in 2001, including four starts, and recorded nine strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Righter combines a wicked slider with a great fastball.
Senior Mike Overstreet will primarily be a reliever, while sophomore Sven Stafford is slated to be the team's closer. Overstreet, a left-hander, keeps the ball down and uses good movement on his fastball to get a lot of ground balls. He appeared in 12 games last season, recording a 2-1 record with one save and a 5.71 ERA.
Stafford pitched in four games last season and tallied a team-leading two saves and a 1.80 ERA in five innings. He has a great presence on the mound and also possesses good control and outstanding velocity.
The Blue Jays return three experienced players behind the plate in senior Tom Prevas and sophomores Doug Hitchner and Bryan Eberle.
Prevas has the most experience and will probably be the team's starter on opening day. He made 19 starts last year, batting .214 with 15 hits in 70 at-bats, while throwing out eight of 26 potential base stealers. Prevas is a solid defensive catcher with a good arm and quick release. He is also a hard nosed and competitive player, who has some pop in his bat.
Hitchner saw action in 22 games as a freshman, making 13 starts. He batted .204 with 11 hits and added three runs scored and six RBIs. Hitchner is a dedicated worker, a smart player, and handles pitchers better than any of the other catchers. He will see considerable time as JHU's starting catcher this year.
Eberle made four starts in 2001 and played in 15 games overall. He possesses the strongest arm among the catchers and is a solid defensive player with good quickness.
Senior Ben Taylor returns at first base after starting a total of 74 games in the last two seasons. Taylor, who has excellent power and is a clutch RBI man, could also see time as the designated hitter. He batted .346 last year, was second on the team with 39 runs batted in, and added five home runs and 25 runs scored. Taylor, a career .380 hitter, posted eight multiple RBI games and has 79 RBIs in 79 career games.
Sophomore Mike Stankus will back up Taylor at first base and could see time as a right handed designated hitter. Stankus has very good power despite a short swing.
Returning to second base is senior co-captain Karl Sineath. Sineath is an intelligent player and a leader on the field. Coach Babb calls him "the best second baseman I've had." He is the prototypical leadoff hitter with exceptional base-running skills. Sineath made 36 starts last season and led the team with 42 runs scored, while setting a school single-season record with 36 stolen bases. A First Team All-Centennial selection and Second Team Mid-Atlantic All Region performer, he needs 37 runs scored and 18 stolen bases to become the Blue Jays' all-time leader in both categories.
Sophomore Tim Casale should take over at shortstop this year after seeing time at second base and shortstop a year ago. Casale, an extremely hard worker with good quickness, has a line-drive swing and is a patient hitter . He started 17 games as a freshman and played in 30 overall. Casale, a Second Team All-UAA selection, was second on the team in walks (17), scored 18 runs, was nine-for-nine on stolen bases, and posted a .403 on-base percentage.
Senior John Krivonak will start at third base after spliting time last year. He batted .241 last season with 19 hits, nine runs scored, and nine RBIs. Krivonak is a solid defensive player with soft hands and an accurate arm. He is also a smart player with a tremendous work ethic. He struck out just once in 79 at-bats a year ago, which is the fourth best single-season mark in school history.
Sophomore Carl Ippolito and freshman Paul Long will provide depth at second base, shortstop, and third base. Ippolito is a smooth fielder and also has a quick bat with decent power. He played in just nine games in 2001, missing a lot of time due to injury, and totaled two hits and one RBI. Long is an exceptional athlete, who runs well, can hit for power, and has a strong arm. He should develop into an outstanding player for Hopkins.
The Blue Jays return two-third of their outfield, led by senior co-captain Mike DePalma and junior Joe Urban. Sophomore Craig Cetta is also expected to start, while junior Jay Cieri and freshman Paul Winterling will also compete for playing time.
DePalma, who has started 80 games in his career, has a great arm and covers a lot of ground in center field. He batted .325 with a team-leading 50 hits, while also adding 34 runs scored, 20 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. DePalma, an Honorable Mention All-Centennial selection in 2001, is a clutch hitter and also has speed on the bases.
Urban had a breakthrough sophomore season, starting 34 games and leading the team with a .384 batting average. He also totaled 48 hits, seven home runs, 10 doubles, and 35 RBIs on his way to being named Second Team All-Centennial and Honorable Mention Mid-Atlantic All-Region. Urban was also second on the team in on-base percentage (.443) and slugging percentage (.648). He possesses tremendous power and is a solid defensive player with an outstanding arm.
Cetta gained valuable experience as a freshman, playing in 19 games with seven starts. He will probably start in left field after batting .353 last year with 12 hits, seven runs scored, and six RBIs. He is a good athlete and runs well on the basepaths, and is also a solid hitter with plenty of pop.
Cieri and Wintering lack experience, but will get plenty of chances to prove their ability. Cieri hits with power and also runs well. Winterling has very good hitting mechanics and also possesses a strong arm and surprising speed.
Success will not come easy this season as the Blue Jays face a tough schedule with a number of teams ranked in the preseason top 30, including Salisbury, William Patterson, Wooster, Allegheny, and Montclair State. Hopkins will meet the challenge for a successful 2002 season with a deep pitching staff, a solid offense, and quality leadership.
|
 |
|
|
||||||
 |
